


Night Birds

by drabblesetc



Series: casual events from dem apex legends' quarters [2]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Casual, Just a wee bit, Octane's prosthetics, Wholesome, as always, lowkey references to a relationship but barely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24220882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drabblesetc/pseuds/drabblesetc
Summary: Elliott gets woken up by Octavio, who begs for his help with a situation he says he got in with the spooky simulacrum.
Series: casual events from dem apex legends' quarters [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748266
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Night Birds

Elliott threw himself on his bed watching the ceiling, smiling to himself in a drunken bliss. His night out outfit still on him, though he couldn’t care less. He enjoyed the nonchalance that came with the intoxication, whether he drank on his own or with others. Was he going to be mad at himself for climbing on the bed with the shoes and everything else on once he was sober? Maybe.

The evening at the bar he spent with Pathfinder, who was the only person willing to accompany him at the bar to celebrate his win, or their win, since this was a team game, even though his squadmates didn’t join and Path wasn’t even his teammate in that match. As much as he was dense, and sometimes annoying, Path was always up for anything Elliot suggested him to do or attend. He appreciated it.

* * *

His eyes snapped open with a sudden pull on his leg. He let out a yelp and pulled himself into a ball in the corner of the bed, anxiously looking over the bed for answers. He wasn’t fully awake just yet.

“Shhh shhhh, compadre! It's me!” A whisper yell was heard from over the bed, but Elliott still couldn’t see him. His bed base was surely high, but no so much that it’d hide a grown man. A standing grown man. He crawled over to the edge of his bed and found Octavio on the ground, his back bent backwards along the edge of the bed base, towards him. Unnerving.

Octavio flashed a smile through his own shush sign he made with his hand, probably to Elliott’s facial expression.

“Huh? Octavio, what the hell? Where the hell are your legs?” Elliott whispered, holding out his hands for Octavio to help him climb the bed. Octavio didn’t take them.

“Now, you see. I got them taken away from me.” He quickly changed his position to sit on his butt, on the floor. He let out a dramatic sigh, “They decided I’m too loud late at night. Compadre, I can’t reach the tap like this, even! I’m thirsty, you know?”

Elliott couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They would do something like this to a man with no legs because he was just being loud? Who were “they”, by the way?

“Wait. What the hell? How loud could you possibly be, anyway? I mean- They couldn’t warn you instead? Who the hell-”

“Revenant.”

Elliott nodded, his eyes squinting down on his company. “Revenant.”

“But I just know, he wants some friends. Man’s always sitting alone in the lounge, staring at the wall, you know! How’s he not bored out of his mind?!”

Elliott nodded again. He knew where this was going and he hated it.

Octavio lifted himself off his butt briefly then let himself drop back down, his way of shrugging. “But I think he likes it, too, you know? He’s damn bored, he wants company. He doesn’t wanna say it, but I know.” 

Elliott scratched his head. “Yeah, I reeeally dont think that’s the case. Like, at all.”

“Nah, dude. He sits with Nat sometimes. Nat reads books in the lounge, and oh! And if you catch her, she makes you warm honey milk, too! Oh, you gotta try that, amigo. That shit’s bonk-”

Elliott let out a fake laugh, then flashed a huge smile to Octavio, pointing at him. “Haaaaah, oh, aren’t you a special one! Don’t go anywhere, and I will get you your water riiight away! You said you’re thirsty, right?” with that he sprung up on his feet to leave the room as fast as possible, to not hear anything else Octavio would demand. 

A hand around his ankle stopped him right before he could hug the floor.

“No no no no no, compadre. You can bring me water now, but that’s not good! You gotta teach me how to fish so I can fish on my own, you know?”

Elliott knew what he was saying. He refused to look at neither the hand or its owner. “No.”

Octavio nudged him in his leg. “Come on, compadre! He’s probably asleep anyway. He probably threw them somewhere in the lounge. Let’s just go and look!”

Elliott knelt down to Octavio’s head level, tightly grabbing his shoulders, then forcefully hugged him, patting his back. “You know, Octavio, I like you a lot. We’re good friends. You could ask me to carry you to your bed and tuck you in, and I would do just that! But, please, don’t ask me to poke the bear.”

Octavio patted Elliott’s back responsively, “It’s not a bear, amigo. It’s just Rev. Come on! He likes you, anyway.”

Elliott nodded in disapproval, still patting Octavio’s back. “Yeah, I have no idea what made you think that, but- wait, anyway! It’s way past midnight, what do you even need the legs for? It’s not like you sleep with them on.”

“Yeah, I do!”

Elliott paused. “No, you don’t.”

“I do! I can’t sleep without ‘em! Ask anyone!”

Elliott sighed, then laid his forehead against the other’s shoulder. He was never good with arguments.

He lifted his head back up with a nudge to his stomach, leaned back to break away from the hug they’ve been sharing on the floor, and took a look at his friend’s face.

His hair was disheveled slightly, as always, and he was examining his face in response. He lifted his brows in question. Octavio wasted no time to break the silence.

“Let’s go, compadre. Me on your back. It’ll be a two versus one. He will never see it coming!”

Elliott nodded in disapproval, nervous laughing. “ Haaaaaah, no no no, no brawls, no fights, no physical anything! Best I can do is ask him once, very nicely, and if he doesn’t--”

“That’s super neat! Let’s go!”

* * *

He got out to the long hallway of the legends’ quarters, headed towards the common lounge, with his friend. His heart was beating in his throat, out of stress.

Octavio chose sitting on his shoulders rather than his back and he couldn’t say no to it, he never could to him. He was slapping the walls and the top of the doorsills with booyahs and whoos, amusing himself, as they moved along the hallway, and it wasn’t helping Elliott with his nerves in the slightest. 

Though the walk was short and shortly after they were in front of the double doors, which he slowly pushed open, to reveal a sight he wasn’t expecting.

On one corner of the dinner table Natalie and Anita sat across, seemingly playing with cards. Revenant was seated on the chair in the corner, as he always did, with Octane’s prosthetics in his lap. His bright eyes caught up to them the moment they showed up.

Octavio leaned forward to fit through the doors, which forced Elliott to take a couple steps forward. “Woohoo, compadres! Here I am, with an addition to our game! Now Rev has to join, too!” Natalie put the cards in her hands down to clap and cheer on. “Good job, Octy! Come on, come on! Sit!” she patted the table.

Anita nodded approvingly, looking impressed. “He actually did what he said he would.” She turned her head towards Revenant, who sat immobile and observed it all.

Elliott lifted a hand. “Uh, hold on, what?..” He eyed everyone in order, although found no more words to question them with. Revenant stood up a moment later, letting the prosthetics fall on the floor and simply walked over them as if they were not there. He took a seat next to Natalie without a word, and with that Natalie jumped off her seat with excitement. “Warm milk for the newcomers, coming right up!” And she ran towards the said newcomers with both hands up. When she was close enough Octavio leaned forward again to give her a solid high five, then took her hands to hop down from Elliott’s shoulders, onto the ground rather smoothly. He quickly crawled over to his prosthetics on the floor, with Elliott mindlessly watching him. He didn’t notice Natalie disappear until she was back with a tray with four glasses, one for each. She bumped the tray softly to Elliott’s back, which startled him. He turned back to face her.

“Don’t stand around, have a seat!” She said with a big smile. “Uh, okay..” When he turned back Octavio was already seated on the head seat, stretching his arms over his head. He sat next to Anita with a raised hand, questioning. “Wait wait wait, what, uh, are we doing?” He jumped in his seat when a glass was put down in front, on the table. Steam trailed off over the glass from the white liquid in it, a bit modest to call it “warm”. 

Natalie smiled to him, “We’re playing uno as late night birds!”

Elliott scowled in confusion, watched Natalie as she gave everyone their promised share, apart from Revenant. She quickly sat back on her seat, next to the simulacrum. Then he decided to have a word.

“Night birds? W-What the hell is night birds?”

“Us! Because we can’t sleep!” Natalie chirped. She leaned forward to gather the cards together to shuffle them.

“Hold on. I’m not a night bird, then! I was sleeping back there!” Elliot said, accusing. He turned to Octavio, who had both hands up as a surrender. 

“Sorry, compadre. But this game’s damn boring with just three. And Rev didn’t wanna join unless you joined, he said!”

Elliott got startled again with a metal fist landing on the table with what Octavio just dropped. He turned his gaze to Revenant, who was visibly fuming. “Uh, Rev? That’s, uh.. I don’t know what to say, uh, haha! I mean.. that’s kinda cute, not gonna lie.” He felt his heart sink into his stomach the moment Revenant’s eyes locked on him, peering into his soul through his eyes. “Uh, I mean, no, no! That’s not cute, at all! That’s foul! I’m mad! Uh, I mean not really. I am, uh, neutral! Yes! Hell, I don’t give a care! Yeah! So let’s play!” Safest response he could give, he thought. He didn’t have a clue what the other would be pleased to hear the most. He gave out the breath he was holding once the other’s eyes were off him and on Natalie, the dealer. 

He noticed the cards already dealt in front of him, laying slick on the smooth surface of the dinner table. As he tried picking his cards up Octavio got up, with his glass of milk raised.

“We da best! To us, children of the night!”

“Yes! Night birds!” Natalie cheered and raised her own glass, which Octavio smashed his glass into with a dangerous amount of force. The two laughed and chirped, Natalie clapped, Anita silently nodded in disapproval as he put her cards in order and when Elliott’s eyes caught Revenant he was just gazing back at him. Elliott smiled awkwardly, and raised his glass of milk towards the other in a gesture. As much as he was terrified of the simulacrum to this day, the amount of time they spent together nullified some ill thoughts he had about him. He appreciated him even, sometimes.

Revenant stared at the glass raised, then brought his hand to slightly tap it with the back of a finger with a clink. Elliott’s smile widened and he had a sip from his honey milk.


End file.
